Wednesday, December 28, 2011

Here are some Quotations and thought from an interview with this amazingly articulate choreographer."when you listen to music, you are hearing thought made audible, and when you see dance, you are witnessing thought made visible" -- Alonzo King ... chill.not just whim, and emotion, but thought structures.

"intuition that needs not validation--internal knowing, goal of the artist"

"really tapping into the uniqueness of my voice"

‎"aim of art is higher than art" Emerson "role of art is for the good of man" Aristotle

"artist have been separated from society, as these afreet, isolated, egotist...taken away from the rigorous masculinity, vigor, of ordinary life...."

‎"the end of your life, you become a masterpiece of humanity"

‎"think of art as a knowledge, we see its real purpose"

‎"we are consciousness"

‎"technique as 2nd nature...to be lost and not self-conscious...I want my dancers to represent the world"

‎"painfully look at television"

"spirituality as practicality" ... "if you don't recognize anything larger than you in your life, what is the point of living?"

"find gratitude..." Mitote: give thanks

‎"people are poorly trained today"

"the body is an interference--what really is happening is spirit--the spirit is dancing...not trained in ideas, just imitation of forms"

maybe that's why i danced, i became a choreographer....i was not trained in a form, i was trained in ideas and spirit. mitote

http://www.kqed.org/a/forum/R201112261030

From the Archives: Alonzo King

Celebrated choreographer Alonzo King discusses the new season of LINES ballet. The San Francisco contemporary dance troupe is performing a world premiere set to music in the Sephardic tradition. We reprise a portion of the interview as part of our special holiday programming.

A group of protesters at the Occupy Oakland action to shut down the Port of Oakland on December 12, 2011. (Photo: Queena Kim)

The Occupy movement is known internationally for protesting the inequalities of the global financial system, so much so that in four short months, "Occupy" has essentially become a brand known the world over.

The name change is proving contentious at Occupy Oakland, with some protesters accusing Native Americans of guilt tripping in the name of supporting the oppressed. But cut through the chatter, and the basic point seems to be this: Occupy doesn't want to give up the brand.

“That name change could ... alienate Oakland from the wider movement,” wrote John C Osborne, who has been reporting on the Occupy movement on his blog the Classist. “The brand recognition if you will.”

The irony of Occupy Oakland being captivated by "branding" isn’t lost on Morning Star Gali, a Native American activist from Oakland who’s helping lead the name change effort. The Occupy movement, in general, shuns the corporatization of society.

More to the point, Gali says that for many Native Americans, especially those who came up in the “Red Power” movement in the 1960s, the term “Occupy” has a lot of baggage.

Native Americans tribes were brutally “occupied" by Spanish and English colonizers. Later, the United States government waged war on the Native American tribes and forced them into camps or reservations. More than 90 percent of North America’s indigenous population was wiped out by “occupiers,” either through war or the spread of disease.

And Bay Area Native American activists believe the occupation continues. In California, many Bay Area tribes are still struggling to gain federal recognition as sovereign nations. In the absence of a treaty, or compensation for their land, Native American activists in the Bay Area say they continue to live under outside rule.

As a Native American, “it’s nauseating to hear the word ‘occupy’ over and over again.'" Gali said. "We need to occupy this, we need to occupy that. It’s the modern day colonial language.”

The controversy highlights a wider criticism buzzing in the blogosphere about the Occupy movement’s use of political language. Some people of color feel that the movement at large is guilty of “linguistic” culture shopping. In other words, that the predominantly white Occupy uses politically charged words to adorn their movement like ornaments on a Christmas tree.

“There’s an appropriation of the words of our struggles,” Ball said. “They’re claiming the language for their own political transcendence without any sensitivity to the history of this country."

The casual use of “slave” terminology among Occupy protesters alienates African-Americans like Earl Black, a retired high school teacher, who drives from his home in Tracy to attend the Occupy Oakland protests.

On one of those drives, Black remembers hearing a radio interview of an Occupy protester who wanted to change the name of Zuccotti Park back to Liberty Park, the name protesters bestowed on their base. (Here's a link to the full debate.)

“He said they need to change the name of the park because 'Zuccotti' is its 'slave name,'” Black said recently at Frank Ogawa Plaza, the home of Occupy Oakland. “That hit me between the eyes. To use 'slavery’ in that fast-and-loose fashion just to get the attention of an audience. I had to turn the radio off.”

Black knows the intent isn’t “malicious.” But as an African-American man in his 70s, he believes that equating financial inequality with our country’s legacy of chattel slavery is ignorant and threatens to push away African-Americans, who have been disproportionately hurt by the current economic downturn.

A younger generation of Occupy protesters have argued that marginalized groups often reclaim once-offensive terms. The gay community took back the derisive term “queer,” and a generation of younger African-Americans has flipped the racial slur “nigger” into a term of endearment, said Davey D, a political blogger who often writes about hip-hop.

“Can that happen with Occupy? Can it be flipped?” Davey D wrote.

Some Native American activists say that question assumes that "occupation" is a remnant of the past that can be dusted off and reintroduced. Instead, they believe Oakland, which is the ancestral home of the Chochenyo Ohlone, is still under occupation because the tribe has been denied federal recognition.

Recently, Native American activists put forward a proposal to change the name to "Decolonize Oakland" in a general assembly meeting that lasted three hours. The proposal received 68 percent of the vote, but failed to get the 90 percent approval needed to pass. Native Americans have been holding teach-ins on the subject and say they'll put the proposal up for a vote again.

"If there was a big sign over Gaza that said, 'Occupy Palestine' how would the Palestinian people feel?" asked Gali. "But somehow it's OK if that happens here" on occupied Chochenyo Ohlone land.

Queena Kim is Community Editor at The Bay Citizen. She came to the Bay Citizen from 89.3-KPCC, Southern California’s leading NPR-affiliate, where she helped start-up its highly-successful arts and culture show Off-Ramp. Queena also co-produces a pop + tech program called CyberFrequencies, which continues to air on KPCC and Sirius/XM. A graduate of NYU and the UC Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism, Queena spent four years at the Wall Street Journal and has written for various publications including the Los Angeles Times, Modesto Bee and the LA Weekly.

Monday, December 26, 2011

I often like to take walks by myself, and watch the people pass by, time and space, here, seem aligned and together.I see so many faces, so many facts, so many of those I wish to get to know, date, fuck, be-friend, choreograph, touch, massage, speak to, feed, drink, smell, dance with....Or maybe, I am already doing all of that simply by being with them, by being present.

Perhaps we do not have to do so much, to do everything. Because of my walking, my paths, my standing, people have to move in relations to me. Due to physics and other chemical realities, we cannot move through each other, but, rather, with each other. The atoms we carry call for gravity between us, a relationship so deep, so essential, we often forget its existence--yet it helps us to create an order to our world, our perceptions, our minds, our bodies.

As I move through people, I enter their lives, even for a second, they see this Native Man, this Joto, this whatever...and then I leave.........so impermanent it seems, a dance i have created, choreographed, with my dancing-walking body.

Perhaps this is the license I get as an artist, as a choreographer, to call what I see fit as dance. Not necessarily everything, but that which I see fit. Though, there is not much I would exclude as dance, I must say, why it is dance is much more important, much more meaningful than "being called dance". Perhaps it is in the why, the conceptualization, the practice, the continuance that keeps Art alive. It is against the practical, against the name, it is the wonder, the wander.

It is there, that I find my place in my work. As it is made, I do not try to name it, I do not try to capture it, I try to wonder, to wonder, to walk through my own creation and let my presence, my gravity shape what is already there....

Maybe this is the sacredness The Creator has given us...the gravity of relationship between all of us, living things, all of us humans.....

My dance, the art, the piece, the pieces, they all, are, A spiritual journey through space......

"...see, there is a domestic snap, a classic snap, you have your "Z" snap, and of course your Queen Diva Snap!....medusa snap.... 'Cunt' with all its meaning and sting, in the Ball, is a 'power word' of vindication. It can mean 'cunty: possessing a soft and irresistible muse-like presence that only a woman can have', or it can mean 'cunt: hard, fast, of woman and desire, ready to eat & destroy anyone who messes with her"

Sunday, November 27, 2011

"...see, there is a domestic snap, a classic snap, you have your "Z" snap, and of course your Queen Diva Snap!....medusa snap....

'Cunt' with all its meaning and sting, in the Ball, is a 'power word' of vindication. It can mean 'cunty: possessing a soft and irresistible muse-like presence that only a woman can have', or it can mean 'cunt: hard, fast, of woman and desire, ready to eat & destroy anyone who messes with her"

Sunday, November 6, 2011

As I work on my MFA thesis, I think a lot about the parallels of modern dance and Native American dance.

In addition to that, I think about why the hell I chose to write my thesis "about", to establish my dance form. --That is a huge endeavor, a lot of ego, and a lot of authority I am wielding....yet, this I feel I must do.

Martha Graham has passed down some quotations, some knowledges, some ideas, some ponders, to help me get through this MFA trial though:

"No artist is ahead of his time. He is time; the others are just behind the times."- Martha Graham

I feel that I am ahead of myself, ahead of my time.....but no. Thinking that I am time. Situated in Time and Space, I realize I must create, I must dance, I must write right now. There is no time in the future to do this work, just now...

also

"You see, when weaving a blanket, an Indian woman leaves a flaw in the weaving of that blanket to let the soul out.” - Martha Graham

This is sacredness. The Flaw is meant to happen. The Flaw is what happens. The Flaw is okay. The Flaw is the spirit. The Flaw is us. The Flaw is our light. The Flaw is our bodies. The Flaw is beautiful. The Flaw is perfection. The Flaw is sacred.....

So much of what the early modern dancers did....are so Native...

”The body is a sacred garment.” - Martha Graham

”The spine is the tree of life. Respect it.” - Martha Graham

”You are unique, and if that is not fulfilled, then something has been lost.” - Martha Graham

”To learn to dance by practicing dancing or to learn to live by practicing living, the principles are the same. - Martha Graham

Cunningham

Time Space Force

Sacred TimeSacred SpaceSacred Force --passion -- Life

It is all the same. YET THE GROUNDING PRINCIPAL IS WHAT MAKES THIS SAMENESS SO DIVINE AND MAGIC.IT IS THAT THIS LAND, AMERICAN LAND, AMERICAN INDIAN LAND, IS THE LAND OF THE SIMPLE SACREDNESS. THAT, THIS IS THE PLACE WHERE DANCE IS DONE TO KEEP THE WORLD IN BALANCE.....THIS IS WHERE DANCE IS USED TO CREATE MORE THAN JUST MOVEMENTS, A PLACE OF PROFOUND TRANSFORMATION BY UNIFICATION WITH THE EARTH..... sync up with the rhythm of the earth, of you, it is groovy and delicious...let's dance....let's be sacred.

learn to dance by practicing dancing; learn to live by practicing living; learn to love by practicing loving; learn to die by practicing dying.....some days it's a good day to die, some days its a good day to have a Grand Slam Breakfast....now, let's get our groove on

Wednesday, November 2, 2011

San Francisco, CA — Veteran Artists and Iraq Veterans Against the War are proud to present "Make Drag, Not War 3!" Sunday December 4th, 2011 at Dance Mission Theater. Make Drag, Not War! is an annual benefit for Veteran Artists that pairs San Francisco's most theatrically talented drag queens with recent military veterans to tell their stories through drag performances. Dance Mission Theater has generously donated their space for the third year in a row for a night of dragtivist theater touching upon issues affecting veterans such as post-traumatic stress disorder, Don't Ask - Don't Tell, and the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

This year's cast of queens are some of San Francisco's fiercest: Raya Light, Miss Rahni, Lil.Miss.Hot.Mess., Phatima, Kallisto, Tara Wrist, Alexis Blair Penney, Honey Penny, and more TBA! With performances by Rotimi Agbabiaka, Flynn Whitmeyer, the League of Burnt Children, and over a dozen veterans from Iraq, Afghanistan, & Vietnam Wars. Artist Malcolm Drake returns as host.

Make Drag, Not War 3!

December 4th, 2011

Dance Mission Theater

3316 24th Street

San Francisco, CA 94110

Doors 7pm

Show 8pm

$10-20 sliding scale

$5 "audience participation" tickets available

NOTAFLOF

*please note: a film crew will be filming the show for French television, anyone wishing to attend the show but not be filmed will be placed in special seating, if interviewed be prepared to sign a release form.

For additional information, Contact:

Stephen Funk

Founder & Artistic Director

Veteran Artists

(415) 672-3740

sefunk@gmail.com

www.veteranartists.org

Make Drag, Not War 3! Sunday December 4th at Dance Mission Theater

Veteran Artists is a San Francisco-based nonprofit, founded and run by recent military veterans connecting other veterans with community resources to pursue any form of art they choose. VA partners with artists and activists to develop meaningful projects and programs that facilitate therapy, skill building and reintegration. We strive to counter destructive experiences with creative experiences, empowering veterans with tools to educate, inspire, and connect with the general public.

Friday, October 21, 2011

Cuauhtémoc Peranda (Xicano/Aztec and Mescalero Apache) is from Santa Cruz, CA. This year he is completing the 2nd and final year of the MFA in Dance at Mills--and, is writing and dancing for Native American sacredness in contemporary dance. He is a voguer, and is currently teaching Aztec Dance at Mills this year.

Wednesday, October 19, 2011

1.Tell me, write me a story. 2 sentences per question, maybe more, which tell me a remarkable experience in your life, which gave you an impulse, a calling, a necessity to go to college. In other word, tell me who you are, and why you want, need to go to college.

Question: Who are you? (general)

Question: Why do you want to go to college? (You)

Question: Which college are you interested in attending? (Harvard, Morehouse, UCLA)

**write the essay as if you are talking to the Admittance Director of that particular college**

Question: What are you interested in? (???)

Question: why are you interested in that? (I makes me feel, I contemplate and discover…)

Question: Is what you are interested in going to be your career? Why/why not?

Question: What are you interested in making your career? How will you achieve it

(not in terms of classes, courses, programs, or grad school, but in another fashion…passion?)

Question: Where did you grow up?

Question: How did that place (s) where you grew up affect you? (U.S., State, County, Race/ethnic understanding/ties, tradition, self-righteousness-discovery-responsibility)

Question: where did you attend school?

Question: What is an interesting and important event that happened in your school?

Question: Are you good in school? Why or why not?

Question: What are you good at? Why?

Question: what are you bad at? Why? How are you improving?

Question: How will this particular college allow you to achieve your dreams?

Question: how will you give back to the college why you are there?

Question: How will this college enable you to be an upstanding citizen?

Question: How will you give back to the college as an alumnus/a?

Answer each of these questions in 2-9 sentences. From there, edit into a good order. This order could be fine—but ensure that the introduction introduces YOU!!!! No statistics, no big statements, YOU!!!! And the last statement is YOU!!! Let the reader remember you and how you will be a great fit for this college, and how you will be a great person to have as an alumnus/a.

Let it be known that they really want you!!!!

Once you answer these questions, you will have an essay! If not more! Description is better than facts! Admittance counselors read thousands of essays, make your essay interesting and easy to read.

State of Change, Mills Repertory Dance Company Concert

Every year, a group of talented dancers gather at Haas Pavilion for the Mills Repertory Dance Company (MRDC hereafter) auditions. An instructor leads them through a dance routine set up much like a classroom setting, and they dance with every soulful sinew in their bodies. After, with baited breath and ample anxiety, they nervously await the postings on the bulletin board in the hallway for the announcements for each placing. The chosen few are then rigorously rehearsed for a concert that takes place annually, which, in every way, is equivalent to a faculty concert with one noticeable difference. In addition to the faculty’s dance works that are performed for this show, some of the students who participate in this concert also have the rare opportunity to work with national and internationally acclaimed choreographers –a different one holding a special guest residency each year. Reiterated from the department’s website, “MRDC performances present a unique opportunity for the public to see the groundbreaking artists of tomorrow perform the work of highly reputed choreographers and teachers of today.” Bridging the gap between academic performance and professional work, the opportunity to work with such well-known artists is one of a kind.

This year’s chosen guest artist is Doug Varone and his work is the well-respected Bench Quartet that was set on a very select few dancers -- seven to be exact. After auditioning for a member of his company, the seven female dancers spent the entirety of their Memorial Day weekend and the week following in an intensive workshop while the choreography was set on these dancers. With supervision from the company member, Erin Owen, and faculty, the seven dancers worked tirelessly to achieve something quite extraordinary even in a professional setting –completely finishing a work like this in only a span of a few days. These seven dancers will continue to rehearse under faculty supervision until the concert coming up in November.

Mills Repertory Dance Concert typically chooses to honor a member of the community, either Mills or the larger geographic community, through the work that is produced and performed for the MRDC concert each year. Bringing a wealth of knowledge from both a business background as well as a women’s educational perspective, the new president of Mills College, Alecia DeCourdreaux is the honoree of this year’s Repertory Concert for the MRDC. Sonya Delwaide-Nichols, the dance department chair states, “We feel inspired by a new beginning under her leadership. We also see a parallel with the ‘state of change’ that dancers/choreographers to through when they bring their new work on stage in front of an audience. New beginnings/ premiers are always associated with a sense of hope, success, and longevity.” All of these qualities are sought and valued whether in performance of a dance, or in our new relationships and leadership changes.

The MRDC concert will be held November 19th, 2011 at 1pm and 8pm, and again Saturday, November 20, at 8pm at the Lisser Theater on Mills College Campus. This is a free event for the Mills community, and tickets for non-Mills attendees will be available at the door. General admission $15, students and seniors with ID $12.

For additional information on the show or the company, please click here.

Monday, October 3, 2011

I believe there is a problem with art advocacy, dance advocacy. I think the problem is where and what we ask of our peoples.

what are some issues?what is some dance?

1) the people who love serious dance: "dance with intent to be performed in a produced, professional manner, made by professional dance artist, to evoke some kind of catharsis, humanity, and poses strong concepts and excellence in execution" --people who love this dance, will continue to love and support it. Those who don't love it, tend to pass it off...as not important. This is a problem, because as an dancer, I feel like my dance is contained in a world, and people are not seeing my work.

2) There is "non-serious dance": "Dance that is "for fun", dance that is extra to another medium (music videos, background dancers in stage show), clubbing, cultural fan fair (not traditional dance)---with intent to dance, not really to preform". This dance is different than "serious dance" yet too many people merge them. One could merge them, and change and swap them. It is all dance, but as serious dance artist, we need to show the divide.This is a problem because a lot of people are experiencing this sort of dance in their lives only. Or maybe not even this kind of dance. And then there is a disregard for dance as an important art. YET!!! it is so important! so wonderful!

3) there is traditional dance--done by and for a certain purpose, for a certain community. This can be professional, sometimes non-serious, or just necessary.This is only a problem if it is not seen as dance, but as an activity. If traditional dance is not seen as professional art, but a cultural relic, it is a problem. Dancing traditional dances is very important, but new work, seeing dance as dance, is also very important.

4) social dance--dance in the club, swing dance, salsa, tango, etc...this is the joy of the couples and of freedom.A lot of social dances can become "serious Dance", but it take a lot of work. I mean past competition dance, but dance as expressive and communicative.

There needs to be more dance in the world, yes.We need to encourage more dance.yes.

But What I want to promote is "serious dance".Dance made for the stage or other space/time.and I want more people to see it.

there is "fun" dance. you can watch an see it too. there is dance that is entertainment, that adds onto something else ("glee", for instance: music and show and narrative is first, dance is there to add)....But dance, as a primary medium, that need to be pushed more.that dance is its own art.that dance has its own power.that dance, alone, can be amazing.

I do not just dance for those who already love dance, who will see it no matter what. I dance for all people, new and old, to see work which pushes and explores the dance field.

art for art sake?music for music sake?dance for dance sake?

I have to say, I have no idea what this means?When I see dance, it usually is not just for "just cuz, kicks and giggles, and something to do". Serious dance is to bring our humanity forward, and revitalize our spirits. It is ceremonial, it is performance, it is culture.I think we need to respect our artist more.Take away so much IDOLIZATION from movie stars, politicians, businessmen and engineers, rich people, but honor too the richness in our artist, culturalist...

--do not just honor the rich who are rich by money or political power, but honor too those who are rich by vision, culture, and excellence in their field, craft, art, and science--

Saturday, October 1, 2011

This is a very powerful speech.It is short, and I encourage everyone to watch it, listen to it, feel it, and contemplate it.

I feel it is true!"we think too much, and feel too little....."

"...more than machinery, we need humanity; more than cleverness we need kindness and gentleness--without these qualities life will be violent and all will be lost..."

WHY do I make art?WHY DO I DANCE?

Because, When i dance, I return power to the people. Power to artist, to humanity, to the world.When I dance, I go into battle, to use and utilize my freedom, to use myself, my art, my expression, my communication, my body, my mind, my spirit.And.When I dance,I invigorate you. I let you feel something more. I express, you receive, we commune.My dancing is a public service.My dance is an art, a fine art, a public art, a valuable art, an important art, my art, me.My role is life is to live as a dancer and choreographer!

HOW DO WE MAKE DANCE IMPORTANT TO OUR LIVES?It may not pay us.It may not be able to support us forever.But in it, we can set ourselves free.comes our house of lightour freedomto dance is a radical thing to dopeople have died, die, for dancing, so that you may dance, so that we may dance.dance is a powerful, huge, and wondrous art!

Monday, September 12, 2011

‎"You cannot love anyone, if you don't love yourself" I find this true.For the longest time, i did not love myself.But damn it, I do love myself and myself says I love you. So there! Take it or leave it!I am too awesome, regal, and impor...tant to deal with your bullshit. --this is not ego speaking, this is the truth-- I am very busy, and I am a warrior. I go into battle every day to be all I can be. And I love you. So take it or leave it. I wish you the best; now, I must dance.

Friday, September 9, 2011

THIS IS A DANCE WORK I MADE FOR MY CLASS: DANCE ON CAMERA.IT IS A DANCE FILM ABOUT MOVING, AND MOVING ON; FROM STILLNESS, TO DARKNESS.....IT IS ALSO A DANCE FILM WITHOUT ANY BODIES IN IT (AS IS THE ASSIGNMENT)...

In honor of the inauguration of Alecia A. DeCoudreaux as Mills College president, we invite you to attend a one-of-a-kind performance of experimental music and contemporary dance that is quintessentially Mills.

The Mills Percussion Group, conducted by famed composer, conductor, and Mills faculty member Steed Cowart, will perform Credo in Us by avant-garde composer John Cage. This lively mix of jazz, blues, percussion, and live radio/DJ was composed in 1942 for Cage’s first collaboration with choreographer Merce Cunningham. For this occasion a newly commissioned dance to Credo in Us by award-winning choreographer, alumna, and Mills faculty member Molissa Fenley ’75 will be performed by members of her New York-based dance companyalong with both current and past dance MFA students(which included me, Cuauhtemoc!)in the Mills College Art Museum.Before the performances, explore the open studios of our MFA students and see the cutting-edge visual arts being created at Mills every day. A dessert reception follows.

"These beautiful models were walking around in the room, and then suddenly this woman who wouldn't be considered beautiful was revealed. It was about trying to trap something that wasn't conventionally beautiful to show that beauty comes from within." -Alexander McQueen. Brilliant. --Eric*

..I like to think of the differences between: "hot" "beautiful" and "desirable"...

----where "hot" is a social construct of our silly society--a colonization telling us what we need to be, and go after....----"beautiful" is that which holds some ...kind of catharsis within it that helps us feel an ephemeral sensation of happiness/understanding/flow...i.e. "ART"....---- "desire" is like lust, or that which is biologically programed in us to want--penises get hard for something, not because it is beautiful, but because it is imprinted on us to fuck it....

...lolz....(?--too much?)...

----what is important to remember, is that just because you don't want to fuck it, does not mean it is not beautiful or important to our lives....

*eric is a good friend of mine who has some interesting ideas i like to explore

What if I changed my thesis topic to the "Dominance and Subordination by the Performance of Male and Female Go-Go Dancers"--how the human eye objectifies or subjectifies these living things....and what power they have over the audience/viewer...and what they mean to our culture, to our expectations, to our desires, to our ideals, and to our reality....oooo, sounds like a great paper! ugh! so much to write, so little time :/

More importantly, I am really interested in how we view Female Go-Go vs. Male Go-Go. Less thinking about strippers, or prostitutes (which is what they suggest) more, the art of Go-Go....and how are they seen but the queer world, and the straight world....what is in the performance of this "kind" of sexuality and aesthetic? What is their place? what sensations does their dancing bring about? ooo so interesting :D

Hello my friends. I am sorry for not posting so often these last few weeks, but I have been extremely busy with my school work.

I have just had my first full week of school, And I am very excited for the new year! Especially my dance on camera class, taught by Shinichi Iova-Koga. I will be making dance film, vs. documentation of dance, and I will know a lot more about turning a dance work into a material thing--which is very intriguing to me. Often times you have to 'dance' dance for it to exist. It is in the DANCING of the dance that it is born, alive, decays, dissipates. All within one moment. But if it is on camera, built for a film--all you have to do is press play--just like an MP3 or open up a .jpg....I think that whole concept is very interesting....It's gonna take work, but I am ready.

Other than That, I wanted to announce that I DID IN FACT GET THE QUEER CULTURAL CENTER GRANT FOR THE MILESTONES PROJECT TO PRESENT AT THE NATIONAL QUEER ARTS FESTIVAL IN JUNE!!!So look out for me an my work in the coming year! I will be dancing :D

Lastly, I am sad to say I will have to leave NEW FIRE. a play that is scheduled for January. It pisses me off that I have to leave, but it has to be done. with the rehearsal schedule, my thesis, and my rehearsal schedule, and the extremely low pay for a "not really working student", plus no equity points...its too much to be asking from me. I had thought i could do it! It sounded like a great play, but I just can't....

Maybe if i worked out the rehearsal schedule, but honestly, it gives them very little time to work with me, and will cost me too much money to be going back and forth from Oakland to SF...I would need at least a 1k to work with them, something tell mes, its not even close to that :/ something tells me its more like $200.00 which is not even enough to cover BART and food--not even talking about rent.

To this, i wonder how people even hold down "day jobs" when they do plays. In a dance company, you have set weekly classes and rehearsals....but what else do people do, what if they work 25-40 hours a week? No one can make it to everything.....

The world sucks in this way, its highly unsteady for the artist :/ but that's the way it is.....money and work comes and goes--and you are always on the lowest bracket of taxes...great! However, you get to create, preform, and change through art. Quite an amazing feat! worth it? I think so....

Wednesday, August 24, 2011

"don't be so selfish!!! Don't work, do, make for yourself, your family, your land, your community, your friends, your enemies, your county, your state, your area, your country, your world, your universe---make, work for the future, for all of time to come, for those peoples, for those things; work for the future, for that unknown. leave you mark so the future can look back at you, and know where they stand"

ABOUT RMK: Since founding Robert Moses' Kin in 1995, Robert Moses has collaborated with a number of prominent dancers, musicians, composers, sculptors, authors, poets, and designers to realize the concept of dance as a unifying form of art, an art form that speaks broadly from a specific place. While touring nationally and creating over 90 original works, Robert Moses' Kin has earned a host of awards, including four Bay Area Isadora Duncan Awards (IZZIES), a Bay Guardian Outstanding Local Discovery Award in Dance (Goldie) and a San Francisco Weekly Black Box Award for Choreography.

Robert Moses' Kin has toured to universities, colleges, and festivals throughout the U.S., including Jacob's Pillow, Bates Dance Festival, Colorado Dance Festival, Dance Center at Columbia College, University of Nevada, University of Texas, Orange Coast College, Dance Umbrella, Stanford University, ProArts Collective, the Maine Festival, and New York's City Center's Fall for Dance Festival, among other venues.

In addition to his work with Robert Moses’ Kin, Moses has choreographed for San Francisco Opera, Ailey II, Philadanco, Cincinnati Ballet, Eco Arts, Transitions Dance Company of the Laban Center in London, African Cultural Exchange (UK), Bare Bones (UK), Oakland Ballet, Moving People Dance, and Robert Henry Johnson Dance Company, among others. He has choreographed for film, theater and opera, with major productions for the Lorraine Hansberry Theater, New Conservatory Theater, Los Angeles Prime Moves Festival (L.A.C.E.), and Olympic Arts Festival.

I will be applying to this. I will be presenting a new piece of mine called

::Leather::

Dance Mission:

We are now accepting applications for
Harvest, The Fall Choreographers Showcase
Sept 23-24 @ 8 pm

The Choreographer's Showcase is produced twice a year (once in the fall and once in the spring) and is a non-juried opportunity for both emerging and established choreographers of all dance genres to show work or work-in-progress in a professional setting. Applications will be accepted on a first-come, first-serve basis. All levels and dance styles are welcome. Applications are now available online and at Dance Mission Studio. Please turn in applications no later than September 1st. Form more information call 415-826-4441.

Tuesday, August 16, 2011

I will be holding an Open Audition for Dancers in the Bay Area to be a part of my Master's Thesis Dance Group Piece. As part of the MFA program at Mills, I will be writing a Thesis, Creating a Solo, and Creating a Group work--and it is this group work I would like outside dance talent to join me, and dance this work into existence!!

I am required to use at least 3 Mills College student Dancers, and that selection will be part of a closed audition taken earlier in the week, or at a later date. So, if you are a Mills Student, you need not come to this audition, I will find you at the other one.

I am looking for 6->8->12 dancers ( -the 3 Mills Students).
My preference, for this work, does lean to those who Male (Because Mills is mostly women dancers), and Queer People of Color.
HOWEVER, I AM LOOKING FOR BOMB-ASS WOMEN TO ROCK THE STAGE, so do not let that be a deterrent.

It is also a plus if you have done some Cunningham Technique, and have an awareness of Aztec Dance, Voguing, and/or Post-Modern dance.
"Contemporary" Dance Experience is required.

Lastly, Rehearsals will most likely be on Saturday or Sunday Afternoons; or Monday evenings (rare). They will take place at Mills College, in Oakland, and will be about 2 hours each week, every week while school is in session (Aug'11-April'12).

The Performance will take place the end of the month in April.

Thank You, and I hope to see you at this Audition.

Schedule:
2:00pm: show up, sign up, warm up.
2:15pm: Opening class, greetings, warm up
3:15pm: Combination and experiments.
3:45pm: cool down
4:50pm: end and questions
(this will give you a sense of my teaching style, my work, my ideas, and how I actualize the dance; I may not use the full two hours)

It will Take Place at the Mills College Dance (Haas) Pavilion, in either Studio 1 or 117.

If you have any questions, please e-mail them to me at cperanda@gmail.com

Monday, August 15, 2011

"Wherever a dancer stands is holy ground." - Martha Graham

I truly believe this. The dancer, as he prepares his mind, body and spirit--as he focuses his breathe, his muscles, his energy--and he initiates himself and makes time, space, force-energy his material, he blesses the world: he makes all things holy.

To the Aztec Dancers, to dance, is to bless the world, and stabilize the earth. To dance, ensure the earth keeps spinning, ensures that the cycles continue, ensure a renewal. By dancing, we effectuate balance in the world.

Yes. We as dancers are the Athletes, the Divine Warriors of The Creator. We fight, we resist death and hardship through our dancing. Our Athletic feat is to win no competition, it is to gain nothing but create, put dance into the world, and let the world take our positive dance, our energy.

The Dance Studio is a holy place....respect it.....the dance floor is holy ground, do you best work there, be yourself, you are safe there, you are loved!

·In this course you will learn the fundamental techniques, styles, rhythms, and choreographies of Aztec Dance, along with its history, cultural symbols, and Pan-Indian/Intertribal relationships.

·This will be a fun and energetic dance class, with history/lecture woven into the class setting, to provide appropriate cultural understanding and background.

·If you are curious about Native American Dance, Culture, History, Immigration, Relationships, and Moving Bodies, then this course would be a great addition to you education.

Cuauhtemoc Peranda is a MFA graduate student in Dance at Mills College. Traditionally Trained in Aztec Dance since he was five, he is Sergento de Danza in grupo Tlaloc-Chalchiuhtlicue of San Jose, CA. He has been a recognized dance advocate and educator, and he is excited to add this class to the rich Mills academic environment.

I wanted to share this video, because it speaks to me as a man. As a Gay man, to my gay brother-en.

There are times, when, you know, our man may look to the other ones. There are times when we may look to the other ones. But we have to remember, the sexy times is not just played by one member: it takes two tango.

Look, if you are having a bad time in bed. Maybe it is him, or maybe it is you, or maybe it is both of you. But ...!!!
YOU MUST SPEAK TO YOUR BODY. You must make it feel good.
Speak to you boy-pussy, your Man-gina. Te'll 'em what it's all about, and make sure you get the job did!!!

Feeling Soft and Cunty is just another way of say'n you're horny and you ready to pounce and make some sweet love! No quickie shit, but some sweet love!!

SO, to dance soft and cunty, is to have that sexuality, that sultry werk about you.
To be soft and cunty, means to be sweet as sugar, but as rich as the darkest chocolate.
Pussy!
Pussy! is not just in reference to a woman, but a sexual power!!!
Cunty, (not cunt), is is an adjective of the most delicious thing to ever find.
Whether it be a penis or a vagina, you best call it out, and make it work...

A Dance Company based in Xicano/Mexica Tradition, Voguing, and Contemporary Dance Practice. This WEBSITE and BLOG serves as way for Cuauhtemoc, his mitote dance company, and collaborators, to share their vision, IDEAS, work, dancing, future, PERFORMANCES, and history.

photo by Rachel Holt

MISSION

The mission of Cuauhtemoc Mitote Dance Company is to foster, create, and perform new and dynamic dance-based work which utilizes experimentalism, and embodied histories to produce Mitote* about timeless and current cultural issues.

We are based in a traditional and contemporary dance practice, stemming from Danza Azteca, Two-Spirit and LBGTQ, Voguing, Latina/o, and Classic American dance cannons.

Artist-Scholar-Warrior

Cuauhtemoc is a quare, indigenous, xicano dancer, choreographer, traditional and contemporary artist, and writer. He is from Santa Cruz California--but he considers himself from the Bay Area generally. His work, Choreography, explores pure-unadorned steps, shapes, forms, and rhythms gathered from ancestral memory, and tends to hold themes and issues of race, gender, sexuality, sub- & Counter- Culture.
He holds an MFA in Dance from Mills College, and a BA in Comparative Studies in Race and Ethnicity from Stanford University.
His current project is developing Mitote-- a Dance form which merges contemporary and traditional dance practices, blurring the lines between ritual and performance, but in a modern sensibility.
Mitote is an mix of Inter-tribal Dance, Jazz, Ballet, Modern&Post-Modern Dance, Contemporary Dance, Aztec Dance, and Voguing